


Lullabye In a Storm

by Evie_adams273



Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Fandom
Genre: Baking, Billy Joel - Freeform, Caring, Cooking, F/M, Malédiction, Mother and Son, Music, Nostalgia, Piano, cocoa powder, curse, lots of baking, lullabye, tree - Freeform, tree swing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 05:51:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19203184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evie_adams273/pseuds/Evie_adams273
Summary: Astoria is asked to comply with tradition and teach Scorpius to play piano. She accepts her task, and with the help of her husband, she teaches her son a song that will always have a special place in her heart.





	Lullabye In a Storm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3iSaoKYNIg

“You want me to teach Scorpius to play piano?” Astoria Malfoy smiled sweetly at her husband’s parents.  
“Yes,” Narcissa Malfoy eyed her distastefully. “Even if you are going to consort with that sort, you could at least comply with tradition and raise your son properly.”

Astoria nodded, not mentioning that they had not specified what they wished their grandson to be taught and this left her every freedom to break tradition. Because, if the situation arose where that was a choice that she was allowed to make, she would break tradition.

She hated the tradition that the Pure Bloods insisted on holding themselves to, despite the fact that it was toxic and, on most occasions, downright wrong. She could not see any issue with muggles and muggle-borns, and she was determined to make sure that her son grew up without that clouded view.

Draco supported this idea, and she was grateful, every damn day of her life, that she had met someone who could love her so deeply, despite knowing that she wasn’t destined for old age in any way, shape or form.

He hadn’t known when they had first started dating, and Astoria had pushed the idea of telling him far away. She had loved him so much and she hadn’t wanted to do anything that could possibly risk her losing that love. Of course, he had found out. And he had promised her that he would never turn his back on her because of that.

She would never stop being grateful for that.

She looked back at Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, smiling at them again. They did not return it and she resisted the sigh building inside her.  
“Is that all?” she asked.  
“Yes,” Narcissa said haughtily.

Astoria nodded a thank you that she didn’t really mean and stood up, walking out the room quickly. She hated the entire house, and she wished she had insisted on meeting somewhere other than one of their homes. Although, she could take the Floo home from here and they couldn’t stop her if she was quick.

She hurried into the drawing room, scooping a little powder from the ornate pot on the mantelpiece. The fire was burning steadily in the grate and she stepped in, closing her eyes.  
“Malfoy Manor kitchen,” she said quietly but clearly, dropping the powder.

The flames rushed up around her, swallowing her as she began to fly through the fireplaces. She kept her mouth shut tightly, making sure not to swallow any of the ash, until she landed on the rug in front of the fireplace.

She opened her eyes, smiling as she stood up. Draco and Scorpius were, somewhat surprisingly, buzzing around the kitchen, both covered in flour and cocoa powder. They froze as they saw Astoria and she laughed.  
“What happened here?” she looked around.

Stuff lay in just about every corner of the room. A pile of varyingly-sized bowls sat by the sink, the top one coated in what Astoria assumed was some sort of chocolate paste. In the alcove that Scorpius normally sat in to read while they were cooking, was a pile of books, all open and spilling out to the middle of the floor.

Astoria smiled and wrapped her arms around Draco and Scorpius, laughing as she ran her hands over their hair and came away covered in flour.  
“Hello,” she placed a kiss on Draco’s cheek. “Are you going to answer my question?”  
“We were trying to bake something,” Scorpius admitted sheepishly.  
“Were you?” Astoria pulled him into a hug. “May I help?”  
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Draco smiled at her.  
“This,” Astoria looked around, “certainly is.”

Draco laughed, dusting his hands off slightly. Astoria looked at his hair again, smiling as she saw the brown streaks of cocoa powder that he’d managed to dust through it.  
“Well,” he looked around, with a slight joke-mocking tone in his voice, “this isn’t really working very well.”  
“Please help,” Scorpius begged.

Astoria smiled, looking around the kitchen with a similar expression to her husband.  
“I suppose could – spare some time,” she grinned. “What are we making?”  
“Thank you,” Scorpius hugged her tightly again and she smiled softly, holding onto him.

About twenty minutes later, Astoria was wrist deep in dough that she was kneading the air out of on the work surface. Scorpius was still running around madly, trying to find about ten different ingredients that, according to him, all needed to be in the cookie mixture at that precise moment. Astoria could have sworn that cookies didn’t even contain ten ingredients, but she didn’t interfere. It appeared that Scorpius had suggested that he and Draco make both the bulk of the main meal and dessert for that evening, which did explain the sheer number of bowls that had been used.  
“So,” Draco stood by Astoria, watching Scorpius with a smile on his face, “what did my parents want?”  
“They wanted,” Astoria put on her best ‘posh voice’, “tradition to be upheld.”  
“Dear Merlin,” Draco raised his eyebrows. “Please tell me that we are still on speaking terms with the rest of the family.”  
“We are,” Astoria promised. “They want me to teach Scorpius to play piano.”  
“What?” Scorpius stopped, half a pack of chocolate chips in one hand, a pack of flour in the other.  
“I am supposed to teach you piano,” Astoria smiled, “to curb your grandparents’ hatred of me.”  
“They don’t hate you,” Draco insisted.  
“Draco,” Astoria leaned her head on his shoulder, “I will forever admire you for your ability to have faith in people, but your parents do not like me. At all.”  
“And are you going to appease them with your wonderful teaching and music?”  
“Absolutely,” Astoria nodded, only half-joking. “Get ready, Scorpius. Piano lessons start tomorrow morning.”

Scorpius nodded, stopping by the bowl full of the cookie mixture. He now had the ingredients needed and he began measuring them, incredibly precisely, into the bowl.  
“In all seriousness,” Draco said quietly as Astoria continued to knead the bread, “were they – civil – today?”  
“They weren’t downright insulting,” Astoria shrugged. “Honestly, Draco, you don’t need to worry.”  
“I know you can take care of yourself,” Draco smiled. “But I care about you.”  
“I know,” Astoria kissed him on the cheek softly. “I love you too.”

She rolled the dough up into a ball, placing it into the only clean bowl that she could see before covering it with a damp cloth. She carried the bowl to the clean side of the kitchen, placing it on a shelf to rise. When she turned around again, Draco was attempting to assist Scorpius in putting the cookies, now laid out on a tray, into the oven.

* * *

 All in all, Astoria was very pleased with the results of the baking escapade that evening when they were sat around the dinner table, eating a meal comprised of still-warm bread and tomato soup that they had found in the back of the cupboard. The cookies were still waiting to be eaten.

Scorpius had calmed down a little and was moving with a little less superhuman speed now that he was not trying to concentrate on everything. Draco still had streaks of cocoa powder in his hair and, no matter how many times Astoria had tried to pat it out, he had stopped her, claiming that he’d shower later.  
“Well,” Astoria smiled. “Thank you for letting me help.”  
“It calmed down a little once you got back,” Draco said.

Astoria laughed, taking his hand. She reached to take Scorpius’ and he put his food down quickly, holding onto his mum tightly. She felt her heart swell with love and sorrow. She was aware that the afternoon had been somewhat planned by her son, even if her husband appeared to be unaware.

From the moment he had found out about her blood malediction, he had done everything he could to make beautiful, happy memories for the three of them. And Astoria did everything she could to let him know that he was succeeding.

Sometimes, she struggled to understand how her son was so mature at the age of nine and had to pinch herself to remind herself that this wasn’t a dream, that she really did have the unconditional love of the two best people in the world.

When it came down to it, they were the only people who really mattered to her. Her family still spoke to her, and she wrote to Daphne most days, but she had distanced herself from them slightly. She had distanced herself from every person who still believed that Pure Blood wizards were superior.  
“What song do my parents want you to teach Scorpius?” Draco asked.  
“They didn’t specify,” Astoria smiled mischievously. “We can pick anything. All they requested was that Scorpius have something to show.”  
“You do realise that this is some sort of test?”  
“Of course I do,” Astoria nodded. “And they know that I know. But I am not going to follow a tradition that also encouraged looking down on others because of their blood.”

Draco nodded, smiling at her. She smiled back, before letting go of his hand and starting to eat again. She didn’t let go of Scorpius, and he looked happy at that.  
“What are we going to show grandad and grandma?” he asked.  
“I have some ideas,” Astoria said. “But I need to find a little something first.”

Scorpius nodded, returning to his food quietly. It was obvious that he was quite tired after the chaos of the afternoon and Astoria knew that the lessons could wait. They didn’t need to start immediately. If they didn’t start for weeks, it didn’t matter. Her parents-in-law would just have to suck it up and learn patience.

Later that evening, once Scorpius had gone to bed, Astoria made her way to the study and began to dig through the drawer that she had stuffed full of sheet music. She had an idea of the song she wanted to teach Scorpius. It wasn’t particularly difficult, as the piano was really only the accompanying instrument, but it was a song that meant so much to her that she wanted to bring it back into Scorpius’ life.

It was a reminder of what was going to come for her in the end, but it was also hope. Hope that she needed. Because she was scared. She hadn’t admitted that to anyone because she had spent so long denying that she was anything except ready for the inevitable.

Even in her head, she liked to think that she was scared to leave her family, leave the people who she knew would never truly recover from her loss. That was the selfless reason to be scared. And she was scared for that.

But she was also scared of dying. She was scared of the darkness that would consume her forever. Or, the light that would consume her forever. She didn’t know. Which also terrified her. Not knowing terrified her.

She shook herself. Thinking about that now wasn’t going to help her find five pages of sheet music that she imagined were at the bottom of the drawer.  
“Are you okay?” Draco opened the door slowly, stopping slightly short at the mess of paper all over the floor.  
“Yes,” Astoria looked around at the mess she had accidently created. “Looking for music. Sorry about the mess.”

Draco walked across the room, taking her hands slowly and pulling her into a loose hug. She leant into him, closing her eyes.  
“Were my parents actually okay, earlier?” he asked.  
“Yeah,” Astoria murmured. “I was just overthinking – everything.”

Draco smiled fondly at her, placing a hand on the back of her head and pulling her closer.  
“You have a habit of doing that.”  
“I know,” Astoria smiled.

She turned back to the drawer, scanning the titles on the sheet music to find the piece she was looking for. She caught a glimpse of it poking out at the very bottom and fished it out, placing it on one of the shelves untouched by the mess, before she started to collect up the sheets strewn around her, reordering them and putting them back in the drawer.  
“Lullabye?” Draco looked at her.  
“I don’t know,” Astoria shook her head. “It fits with what your parents specified that they want. It’ll piss them off. It’s relatively simple. I–”  
“It’s okay,” Draco interrupted her rambling quietly. “Scorpius will like it.”  
“I hope so.”  
“Of course he will,” Draco kissed her forehead gently. “He’ll remember it.”

Astoria nodded, smiling fondly at the memories. Scorpius had been a four or five, and he had begun to have nightmares over one thing or another. Astoria took to sitting with him while he fell asleep, and when his questions about variously complicated topics became a little too much, she would sing to him.

The song didn’t mean much to Scorpius at that moment, but to Astoria, it had given her the hope that, if the worst happened, which was likely, in her head, Scorpius might be all right.

* * *

A few days later, Astoria and Scorpius sat down at the piano in the corner of the lounge, a sheet of manuscript paper in front of them. Lessons had actually begun three days previous, but Astoria had taught Scorpius some of the basics in theory before touching the piano.  
“This,” she indicated, “is middle C.”  
“Okay,” Scorpius nodded slowly.

He pressed the key and the sound rang through the room, echoing around. Astoria smiled, glancing over her shoulder as the door opened quietly. She shook her head, still smiling, as Draco slipped in and sat down silently.

Scorpius hadn’t noticed, and Astoria turned back to him, resting her hands on the piano gently, so that she didn’t press the keys.  
“Okay,” she said. “If middle C is one, then what’s two?”  
“D,” Scorpius pressed the key.  
“And three?”  
“E.”  
“Well done,” Astoria smiled.

This continued for a little while, and Astoria taught Scorpius what note corresponded with each key and began to teach him the first piece she had been taught. It was easy, and she knew it like the back of her hand, despite having not played it for years.

By the time Scorpius had mastered that piece, the setting sun was shining through the windows. Astoria had to keep pulling herself out of the memories of piano lessons that ranged from incredibly successful to days when the aching in her muscles had prevented her from even being able to move without wincing. Before any Healer that her parents had deemed credible had informed them that she was cursed, she had been told to suck it up and play.  
“That was beautiful,” Draco smiled as Scorpius stood up.  
“Dad,” Scorpius froze. “You were there…”  
“For most of it,” Draco said softly. “Don’t worry. It was brilliant.”

Astoria smiled at her husband, shaking her head softly. She had snuck glances at him during the afternoon, trying not to laugh too loudly when he pulled faces at her.  
“Mum,” Scorpius stopped.  
“Yes, Scorpius?”  
“Can you play the song that you want to teach me?”

Astoria paused slightly, weighing up the pros and cons of the request. It wasn’t a reaction that she normally had to a question, but she didn’t know if she could concentrate on the lyrics and remain calm at that moment, given what she had unintentionally done to the study a couple nights before.  
“Give me a few minutes,” she said slowly. “I’ve got to go find the music. And I warn you, I’m going to be a little rusty.”  
“I’ve got it here,” Draco stood up, holding out the pages of music.  
“Of course you do,” Astoria smiled at him, taking it slowly.  
“Hey,” Draco took her hands gently as they started to shake. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

Astoria nodded, taking a deep breath. She sat down at the piano, spreading the music over the stand. She could do this. It wasn’t just a reminder of the inevitable. It was a reminder of her love and her family and everything wonderful in her life.

When she started to play slowly, she took a deep, shaky breath at the end of the introduction. She could do this, because her son needed to hear the words. Because he was learning it and because it was for him, to give him hope, even if he wasn’t aware that he needed it yet.

The sound echoed through the room, through the silence, as Astoria sang, trying not to concentrate on the fact that her throat hurt, and her voice kept cracking when the notes dove too high or low.  
“I recognise it,” Scorpius said as Astoria finished playing, blinking back tears. “You’ve sung it before.”  
“I have,” Astoria smiled at him. “Do you remember when you used to have nightmares?”  
“Yes,” Scorpius nodded.  
“I used to sing that to help you get to sleep,” Astoria said. “I – I hope – that you – remember – it. After this.”

Scorpius didn’t say anything, but he nodded again, sitting back on the piano stool before hugging Astoria tightly. She closed her eyes, holding her son tightly. He understood, or that was the way it felt. He knew what she was trying to convey with the song. At nine, he understood more than some people would ever understand.  
“Mum?”  
“Yes, Scorpius?”  
“What are grandad and grandma going to do when they hear this song?”  
“I’d imagine,” Astoria smiled, “they’ll be very impressed because your performance is going to be beautiful.”  
“Will they know it’s a muggle song?” Scorpius looked up at her.

Astoria stopped herself slightly as she saw the slight fear in her son’s eyes, stopping herself from continuing normally.  
“Do you want them to know?” she said.  
“I don’t know,” Scorpius said quickly. “I mean, they might work it out, or they might not, but they’ll be angry at you…”  
“Scorpius,” Astoria took her son’s hand gently. “Do you want to show them this song?”  
“You want me to learn this one.”  
“I can teach you another one that they would approve of, if that’s what you want,” Astoria said. “It’s your decision.”  
“Will they be angry if it takes longer?” Scorpius mumbled.  
“If they get angry,” Astoria said calmly, “then they will not get angry at you. Whatever happens, it is on me.”  
“I like this song,” Scorpius said quietly. “I think they might like this song.”  
“If that is what you want,” Astoria said, “then I will teach it to you.”  
“Okay,” Scorpius nodded, smiling nervously at her.  
“I love you,” Astoria pulled her son back into a hug, kissing him on the forehead.  
“I love you too, mum,” Scorpius whispered.  
“It’s getting late,” Draco looked at his watch. “You should probably get some sleep, Scorpius.”

Scorpius nodded, glancing at both of his parents. Astoria smiled. She knew that he was well aware that the suggestion of going to bed was a request for some time for his parents to talk. And, because he was a mature, kind child, he hugged his mum, then his dad, before walking out the room, taking himself off to bed.  
“Can I revise my answer to your question earlier?” Astoria took Draco’s hand and fell back onto the sofa with him.  
“Okay,” Draco said nervously.  
“We probably won’t be on speaking terms with your parents for much longer,” she murmured, leaning her head on his shoulder, “if Scorpius plays this.”  
“Would you mind?”  
“Absolutely not,” Astoria said, “but they’re your parents. Would you mind?”  
“I don’t know,” Draco murmured. “I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

Astoria smiled, sitting up slightly to kiss her husband on the cheek. He kissed her back and she fell into his embrace, laughing. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was laughing about, but she didn’t care. There didn’t have to be a reason involved in the happiest memories that she was going to make.

Because that was what made the happiest memories – the moments where everything seemed to be normal; those were the moments that really depicted what her happiness looked like, when it hadn’t been planned or organised beyond belief, as so many family events had to be.

The moments where her family were her family and they could just be happy. Sometimes, in those moments, Astoria almost managed to forget the underlying fear and sadness always present in her mind. Almost always present in her mind

* * *

The piano lessons continued over the next few weeks, most afternoons that Scorpius and Astoria were free. Which was most afternoons. Quite quickly, they developed a timetable of what they played when, and when he could go unnoticed, Draco would sit in on the lessons.

Astoria could hear the improvements in Scorpius’ playing almost every day, and it made her heart swell with pride every time her played something without the previous mistake, or every time that he finished a piece and added a little flourish that made it his own.

Originally, Astoria had intended on teaching Scorpius the lyrics to the song after he could play the accompaniment. However, she had a slightly inconvenient habit of humming along, and this very often transpired into singing along quietly. Scorpius then began to sing with her, and she would dive in and out of the harmony lines – the song was for a male register and singing harmonies was always much easier.

The weeks passed and, much to Astoria’s surprise, they did not receive any letters from Lucius and Narcissa, demanding to know what progress she was making and when a performance would be ready. She told herself, multiple times, to be grateful for it, and she was. She also reminded herself that Narcissa was likely to have been taught piano and understood that it took time.

So, they took their time. They took the time they needed, and, soon enough, Astoria was able to send a letter to her parents-in-law to inform them that they were welcome to come to see Scorpius show what he had learnt.

They had accepted the next day, and Scorpius had then begun to panic over whether he would play it properly. Astoria had remained calm, taking him through a few last-minute practices slowly, praising him every time he played perfectly, which was the majority of times. His confidence rose again, reasonably quickly as it had only been a knockback.

And then the morning arrived. Reluctantly, at Draco’s instruction, mother and son had dressed in their formal robes. Technically, the occasion warranted that Astoria should wear a formal dress, but she wasn’t a sycophant. She had dignity.

She was sat in the lounge, waiting for the main event to kick off, wondering why, in her head, she was referring to such a small thing as ‘the main event’. Scorpius came in, looking a little awkward in his robes. She smiled at him as he sat down next to her. She curled up, not caring that she was crumpling her clothes, letting Scorpius lean on her shoulder.  
“Mum?”  
“Yes?”  
“About the song,” he paused. “Please don’t tell them who wrote it. Unless they ask.”  
“Okay,” Astoria nodded. “Do you not want to play it? I’m sure we could postpone it if–”  
“No,” Scorpius said quickly. “I’d like to play it. I just…I don’t want them to know…I don’t think. I’m not really sure…”  
“That’s fine,” Astoria squeezed Scorpius’ hand gently. “That’s perfectly fine.”  
“Thank you.”

The family arrived little over an hour later. Astoria stood up moments before they entered, smoothing out her robes so that it did not look as if she had just spent an hour curled on the sofa. Scorpius, ever eager, was already sat at the piano and Draco smiled encouragingly at him.

Astoria remained silent as Narcissa and Lucius looked her up and down, not being subtle about the fact that they were judging every part of the occasion. Astoria knew that she probably should have cared more, but she didn’t. If they wanted to judge her for being who she was, that was their business. There was no reality in which they would be able to break her family apart.

Narcissa and Lucius sat down where Astoria had been sitting moments before, looking at Scorpius. He looked down at the piano, taking a deep breath.

It dawned on Astoria as Scorpius began to play that it would probably have been polite to say hello, and she hoped that Draco had done so on his way in. She was hopeless when it came to remembering the little etiquette pieces that she had abandoned years ago. And it did count as an ‘etiquette piece’ when it came to her parents-in-law. Everything did.

But, soon, that flew from her mind as the music took her and she closed her eyes, swaying slightly on the spot. The song had gone from a reminder of sorrow to a beautiful piece of art in the hours that she had listened to it, and now she was able to control her emotion while listening to the masterpiece. Just about.

At one point, she felt Draco take her hand and she squeezed his hand gently. He squeezed her hand in return and she smiled peacefully. She had her family. She would always have her family.

She opened her eyes a few minutes later as Scorpius stopped playing. He looked at her, smiling hopefully. She smiled back proudly, clapping along with Draco and his parents. Surprisingly, they had not made any comment about how the style of music was unusual, but she was grateful for this. She was well-aware of how nervous Scorpius had been.  
“Well,” Narcissa turned to Astoria, “you appear to have done something right.”  
“Thank you,” Astoria smiled. “Scorpius, that was absolutely wonderful.”

Scorpius continued to smile widely, walking over to his parents and taking his mum’s free hand. She held on tightly, determined not to let the tears that were now forming to slip through. She had to keep strong otherwise they would deem her weak until the day she died.  
“It wasn’t what we expected,” Lucius looked at her, “but it was very good. Congratulations.”

Astoria felt a great weight rise off her shoulders and she turned to Draco, who had let go of her hand to pick up a tray of tea and biscuits. According to him, it was impolite to ask them to leave immediately. She did understand, but she dreaded where the conversation would end up. Family gatherings were always tense.  
“Thank you,” Narcissa murmured to Draco, taking the cup he offered. “Astoria.”  
“Yes?”  
“Who wrote the piece? It’s not one I’m familiar with.”

Astoria felt Scorpius freeze beside her and she squeezed his hand gently. She could, and would, handle this. This was her responsibility and her son was not going to get caught in any form of firing line.  
“Billy Joel,” she said calmly.  
“Who?”

Astoria prepared herself for the plunge, breathing in deeply.  
“He’s a muggle songwriter,” she said, attempting to keep her tone conversational. “The song that Scorpius played is a personal favourite of mine.”

Narcissa and Lucius’ expressions turned, almost simultaneously, from pleasant to utterly disgusted, in under a second. Astoria smiled gently at them as Scorpius took a small step back.  
“Why is that a problem?” Astoria said. “You asked me to teach my son to play piano. I would hope that you agree that he can play piano.”  
“The problem is,” Lucius spoke softly, “is that you consider it acceptable to endorse such thieves and dirt.”  
“Two things,” Astoria found herself snapping. “Billy Joel is a muggle, and more commonly within your ideas, muggle-borns are the people you refer to as thieves. That is, however, completely irrelevant, because muggle-borns are witches and wizards and magical in their own right.”  
“Is that what you’re teaching the Malfoy heir?”  
“That is what I am teaching my son!” Astoria thundered, her temper getting the best of her.

Silence fell, and Astoria smiled at Scorpius, squeezing his hand again gently. He continued to look forward at his grandparents.  
“Perhaps,” Narcissa had stood up, “it is a good thing, then, that your presence and influence are only temporary.”

Astoria felt her stomach lurch uncomfortably at the words, but she did not move, did not let the tears fall. She was about to speak, to break the silence, but Draco spoke first, his words near silent, but still audible.  
“Get out.”  
“Really, Draco,” Lucius raised his eyebrows. “Please do–”  
“Get out,” Draco said alone. “Now.”

Astoria watched, unmoving, as Narcissa and Lucius walked out of the room, being followed by Draco. She waited for the front door to close, and when it slammed shut, she stopped concentrating on appearances and allowed her knees to buckle beneath her.  
“Mum,” Scorpius took her hand as she tried to pull herself upright. “Mum?”

Astoria didn’t reply, tears running silently down her face. She felt her hands beginning to shake, and she couldn’t find a way to reply to her son’s frantic words. It was a struggle to even concentrate on his words, because they mixed with a hundred other voices, screaming inside her head.  
“Astoria,” Draco’s voice cut smoothly through as he knelt in front of her. “Astoria.”

She screamed out, clenching her fists as she stood up, stumbling backwards, away from her family.  
“Mum?” Scorpius looked terrified.

Astoria closed her eyes slowly, forcing herself to breath. She needed time. They would spare her that.  
“Give me – time,” she croaked, stumbling past them towards the door, tripping on the hem of her robes.

She did not stop moving, however slowly, until she reached the tree-swing in the garden, whereupon she sank to the floor burying her head in her hands. And she stayed there for hours, thinking the same thoughts, over and over.

Because, no matter what she told herself, her mother-in-law was right, in a way. Her presence was entirely temporary.

* * *

“Mum?”

Astoria opened her eyes slowly and looked over her shoulder to see Scorpius stood awkwardly a few feet away, holding a small basket covered with a tea towel. She smiled at him sadly, holding out a slightly damp hand. He took it, sitting down next to her.  
“I’m sorry about earlier,” she murmured.  
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Scorpius put an arm around her.  
“I’m sorry I let myself collapse like that when your dad wasn’t there,” Astoria said. “I scared you. I’m sorry.”  
“Are you okay now?”  
“I’m not sure,” Astoria said quietly.

She remained silent for a few moments, searching for a way to phrase her fears. She did not want to make Scorpius think he had some responsibility to help her, but she did not want to hide anything from him. Time was such a precious thing that they simply did not have an eternity of.  
“I’m scared,” she murmured, almost inaudible.  
“You’re scared?”  
“I’m scared of losing you and I’m scared of losing your dad,” she said. “And I’m scared of dying.”  
“I keep trying to find things about your curse,” Scorpius started to ramble, “and I think I might be able to find something…I’m not sure.”  
“Scorpius,” Astoria looked down at him firmly. “You don’t have to do anything. This isn’t your responsibility.”  
“I want to help,” Scorpius said.  
“I know,” Astoria smiled, “but don’t torture yourself over it. It’s not your job.”  
“Do I have a job?”  
“You’re doing it. You’re being the best son that I could ever have imagined. I love you.”  
“I love you too.”

There was a pause and he started to take the tea towel off the basket to reveal a small parcel of cookies. Astoria smiled, her mind piecing together what Scorpius had done.  
“I thought these might be ready for you when you came back,” he said. “And then you weren’t back, and dad said I could come find you.”  
“Thank you,” Astoria planted a kiss on her son’s forehead. “How much cocoa powder is in your dad’s hair this time?”  
“More,” Scorpius smiled.

Astoria laughed, and Scorpius passed her a cookie. She took it gratefully, murmuring a thank you, and a compliment on the fact that it was still warm. They were, of course, delicious, and she finished it quickly, upon realising exactly how hungry she actually was. She had not eaten lunch. That had been part of the original plan of the day. That had gone out the window.

Once Scorpius had finished, he stood up, moving towards and sitting down on the swing. Astoria stood up, stretching her legs out – she hadn’t moved for hours – and stood behind Scorpius. He looked up, a little apprehensively, and she pushed him gently.

He giggled as the swing began to sway and Astoria smiled. They could still make this a good day. A few hours setback couldn’t destroy her world. Any damage that had been done was being repaired by hearing her son’s laughter as she pushed the swing.

She shrieked with slight laughter as arms wrapped around her and she felt Draco lean his head against her, kissing her cheek.  
“Thought I might find you two here,” he grinned. “How are you feeling?”  
“Like we’re no longer on speaking terms with your parents,” Astoria smiled back. “Sorry about that.”  
“They brought that one on themselves,” Draco said firmly. “Are you okay?”

Astoria shrugged, pushing the swing again.  
“I’ll be okay.”

It was probably the best answer she could give.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again @cryingbcbooks  
> Kudos and feedback very welcome  
> This took ages. Hope it was worth it.


End file.
